Local News

Longtime Los Alamos resident Gloria Cordova recently received a letter from the Office of the President of the College of Mt. Saint Joseph, her alum undergraduate college.
“It is my great pleasure to inform you that you have been selected to receive the 2011 Loretta Richards Distinguished Alumni Award, which is the highest honor bestowed on Mount graduates – the college and the Alumni Association are extremely proud to recognize your lifetime achievements, and your commitment to your profession as well as your community,” President Tony Aretz said.
Cordova’s graduating Class of 1961 is celebrating its Golden Anniversary and she had planned to travel to the college for the event even before learning of her award.

Memorial Day will be observed at the Guaje Pines Cemetery at 11 a.m. Monday. The entire community is invited. This year’s theme is “We Remember Those Who Fought and Died For Freedom.”
This year’s keynote speaker will be Kevin Smith, the manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos Site Office (LASO). As LASO Manager, he is responsible for administering the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) management and operations (M&O) contract and all federal activities on the site.
Before joining the Department of Energy, Smith served in U.S. Air Force in a number of capacities to

Members of the Los Alamos Youth Action Team – comprised of Los Alamos High School students – attended Tuesday’s council meeting to urge the county councilors to include tobacco in drug-free zones surrounding schools and to help with enforcement of smoking prohibitions.
Coordinator Katie Bridgewater introduced seven team members, who took time out from studying for finals to address the council. Each presented a different aspect of the issue.
Jessica Montgomery’s perspective was the most personal.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA completed its part in the construction of the International Space Station on Friday, with the final spacewalkers in the 30-year shuttle program attaching an extension boom.

"Twelve years of building and 15 countries and now it's the Parthenon in the sky and hopefully the doorstep to our future," spacewalker Gregory Chamitoff before heading back inside. "So congratulations everybody on assembly complete."

Residents and commuters on Diamond Drive will soon notice contractor activity at the Golf Course as the demolition of the former Clubhouse and adjacent swimming pool facility gets underway.

The demolition contractor, Coronado Wrecking and Salvage, will install a fence around these building areas later this week. The first phase of demolition will include removal of hazardous materials such as asbestos, which begins Monday, April 25.

These activities will not be visible to the public or have public impacts. Work on abatement will continue through May. Demolition activities will begin later in June, and will include large trucks hauling away debris from the site via Diamond Drive.

SANTA FE — Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera continues to draw fire over state auditing of special education enrollment and other public school records.
Several members of the Legislative Education Study Committee on Wednesday complained about Skandera suggesting last month that schools might be “gaming the system” to increase state aid.
Democratic Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton of Albuquerque said Skandera’s comments were damaging to schools.
Skandera defended the Public Education Department’s review, saying it was to ensure all schools get a fair share of financing.

No trash collection
No trash or recycling collection May 30. If Monday is your normal trash day, put trash out by 8 a.m. Wednesday June 1.

Senior Appreciation
Senior Appreciation night will be at 5 p.m. Saturday at Fuller Lodge. There will be a barbecue at 6 p.m. at Fuller Lodge and a pancake breakfast will be Sunday at the Senior Center.

Authors Speak
The Authors Speak Series, featuring Demetria Martinez and scheduled for today at the Mesa Library, has been canceled.

Music film series
The Music Film Series will feature “Almost Famous” at 6:30 p.m. on June 2 at Mesa Library.

WASHINGTON — High gasoline prices, government budget cuts and weaker-than-expected consumer spending caused the economy to grow only weakly in the first three months of the year.
The Commerce Department estimated Thursday that the economy grew at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the January-March quarter. That was the same as its first estimate a month ago.
Consumer spending grew at just half the rate of the previous quarter. And a surge in imports widened the U.S. trade deficit.
Most economists think the economy is growing only slightly better in the current April-June quarter. Consumers remain squeezed by gas prices, scant pay increases and a depressed housing market.

A colorful fractal image, created by Piñon Elementary School sixth grade artist Niamh Short, was unveiled on an 18-foot by 7-foot mural on the exterior wall of Metzger’s on Central Avenue at 15th Street Wednesday afternoon.

“I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember and I like to cartoon. I thought this project would be fun and felt that I had a shot at winning,” Short, 11, said.

The mural is part of MainStreet’s Los Alamos Creative District initiative in which local elementary school students participated in the Los Alamos Public Schools Fractal Challenge.